3 Interpretation of Geologic Maps Objectives ‘© Determine the exact attitude of a plane from its outcrop pattern. ‘© Determine stratigraphic -kness from outcrop pattern. ‘Determine the nature of contacts from outcrop patterns and attitudes. '* Construct a stratigraphic column. Every geologic project relies on the geologic maps available at the time of che investigation. You may be asked to check a geologic map for accuracy or to map an area in greater detail. Even if your particular project does not involve direct field- work, its essential that you have the skills neces- sary to interpret published geologic maps. Geologic maps are drawn primarily from obser- vations made on the earth’s surface, often with reference to topographic maps, aerial phoro- graphs, or satellite images. The purposes of a geologic map are to show the surface distributions Of rock units, the locations of the interfaces or contacts between adjacent rock units, the loca tions of faults, and the orientations of various planar and linear elements. Standard geologic symbols used on geologic maps are shown in Appendix F. Some aspects of constructing a geologic map, such as the defining of rock units, are quite sub- jective and are done on the basis of the geologist’ interpretations of how certain rocks formed. This being the case, many neatly inked, multicolored maps belie the uncertainty that went into their Accompanying this manual is a geologic map of the Bree Creek Quadrangle. An important teach- ing strategy of this book is to have you analyze the map in detail throughout the course, one step at a time, and then to have you synthesize it all into a cohesive structural history. The analysis begins with this chapter; the synthesis will come in Chapter 11 It is important to keep in mind that topographic and geologic maps are projections onto a horizon- tal surface. Therefore, distances measured on maps are horizontal distances (“as the crow flies”), not actual ground distances. Determining exact attitudes from outcrop patterns. Because the strike of a plane is a horizontal line, any line drawn berween points of equal elevation ‘on a plane defines the plane’s strike. Figure 3.la is a geologic map with two rock units, Formation M and Formation X. The contact between these two rock units crosses several topographic con tours. To find the strike of the contact, a straightBb — tatrprtton of Selec Me mM Fm. 5 _ ee Fm. M on = Fm.x. € sink Fm. M one JZ Fm.X > sik 7 pan teh ap rear a 3.1 Technique for determining the attitude of a plane from its outcrop pattern. (a) Contact between Formation M and Formation X. (b) The line connecting points of equal elevation defines strike. (c) A perpendicular is drawn to a point of contact at a different elevation. (d) Dip angle 8 is found from an 8 line is drawn from the intersection of the contact with the 1920-ft contour on the west side of the map to the intersection of the contact with the 1920-ft contour on the east side of the map (Fig, 3.1b). The strike of this contact is thus determined to be 079°, as measured directly on the geologic map, Remembering the rules of Vs from Chapter 2, it should be clear to you from the outerop pattern in Fig. 3.1a that the beds dip toward the south. To determine the exact dip, draw a line that is per- pendicular to the strike line from another point of known elevation on the contact. In Fig. 3.1e, line has been drawn from the strike line to a point where the contact crosses the 1680-ft contour, The length of this line (b) and the change in eleva tion (v) from the strike line to this point yield the dip 5 with the following equation (Fig. 3.1d): tand = b The solution to this example is: ‘This method for determining attitudes from outcrop patterns can be used only if the rocks are not folded, Figure 3.2 shows the Neogene (Miocene and Plio- ene) units of the northeastern block of the Bree Creek Quadrangle. Straight lines have been drawn /h. connecting points of known elevation on the bot- tom contact of the Rohan Tuff, unit Tr. The strike, ‘measured directly on the map with a protractor, is 344°, and the dip is 11° NE as determined by: 3.2 Neogene units in the northeastern portion of the Bree Creek Quadrangle. Ts, Gondor Conglomerates Thd, Helm’s Deep Sandstone; Tt, Rohan Taff400 wr But what is the attitude of the southern outcrop of the Rohan Tuff? Even though no two points of equal elevation can be found on the bottom con- tact, notice that the points of known elevation lie ‘on the same straight lines drawn for the northern ‘outcrop. This is strong evidence that the attitude of the southern outcrop of Rohan Tuff is exactly the same as that for the northern one. This kind of reasoning is typical of what must become routine when interpreting geologic maps. But become careful! This approach assumes that the base of the Rohan Tuff is planar. Many sedimentary and volcanic deposits have non-planar bases. Solve Problem 3.1. Determining stratigraphic thickness in flat terrain If the attitude of a rock unit is known, it is usually possible to. determine its approximate strat graphic thickness from a geologic map. If a unit 1s steeply dipping, and if its upper and lower con- tacts are exposed on flat or neatly flat terrain, then the thickness is determined from the trigonometric relationships shown in Fig. 3.3. sind Stepan of Scape Maps, Thang Fig. 3.3 Trigonometric relationships used for deter- ‘mining stratigraphic thickness ¢ in flac terrain from dip 8 and map width b. i where 1 is stratigraphic thickness, h is horizontal thickness (width in map view), and 8 is dip. Solve Problem 3.2. Deter ing stratigraphic thickness on slopes ‘The thickness of layers exposed on slopes may be determined trigonometrically if, in addition to dip 8 and map width b, the vertical distance v (ie. differ- encein elevation) from the baseto the top of the layer isknown. Figure 3.4a showsa situation in which the layer and the slope are dipping in the same direction. Relevant angles have been added in Fig. 3.4b, from which the following derivation is made: